1 US EPA Says it is Auditing Biofuel Producers' used Cooking Oil Supply

Laverne Alcala edited this page 2025-01-13 02:18:44 +08:00

By Leah Douglas

Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Epa has actually introduced examinations into the supply chains of at least 2 renewable fuel manufacturers amid market concerns that some might be using deceitful feedstocks for biodiesel to secure financially rewarding federal government aids.

EPA representative Jeffrey Landis told Reuters that the agency has actually launched audits over the past year, but decreased to identify the business targeted because the investigations are continuous.

The production of biodiesel from sustainable components, like used cooking oil, can make refiners a multitude of state and federal ecological and environment subsidies, including tradable credits under a program administered by the EPA called the Renewable Fuel Standard. But fears have actually been mounting that some materials identified as utilized cooking oil are in fact cheaper and less sustainable virgin palm oil, a product that is connected with logging and other environmental damage.

The issue came into focus following a surge in utilized cooking oil exports from Asia in the last few years that analysts have said includes unrealistically high volumes relative to the amount of cooking oil used and recuperated in the area. The European Union is likewise investigating feedstocks over the fraud concerns.

The EPA audits began after the company supply-chain accounting requirements in July 2023 for eco-friendly fuel manufacturers looking for to earn credits under the RFS, he said.

"EPA has actually conducted audits of eco-friendly fuel manufacturers because July 2023 that includes, to name a few things, an assessment of the areas that used cooking oil used in renewable fuel production was collected," he said. "These investigations, nevertheless, are continuous and we are unable to discuss continuous enforcement examinations."

U.S. senators from farm states have actually called for more oversight of biofuel feedstocks, saying federal agencies need to be as rigorous in confirming imports as they are auditing domestic supply chains.

"The Biden administration has actually produced vigorous requirements to confirm, not just trust, American producers, and it is crucial that the same analysis is used to imported feedstocks," six U.S. senators, led by Roger Marshall and Sherrod Brown, composed in a June 20 letter to federal companies.

Another letter from 15 senators to the Treasury Department on July 30 advised the administration to leave out imported feedstocks like UCO from an extra clean fuel tax credit program passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Matthew Lewis)